The West Virginia Autism Training Center is expanding its reach in the state. WV ATC, located at Marshall University in Huntington, has partnered with Concord University to develop on-campus support in Athens for students who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

The West Virginia Autism Training Center is expanding its reach in the state. WV ATC, located at Marshall University in Huntington, has partnered with Concord University to develop on-campus support in Athens for students who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

The West Virginia Child Advocacy Network and West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence are getting help from Verizon's HopeLine program to help those affected by domestic violence and child abuse.

The West Virginia Child Advocacy Network and West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence are getting help from Verizon's HopeLine program to help those affected by domestic violence and child abuse.

West Virginia’s Division of Corrections is hoping to close the door to recidivism by helping inmates with drug problems break the grip of addiction. The state already opened two 28-bed units — one for men, the other for women — at Southwestern Regional Jail to accommodate inmates sentenced to DOC custody who are serving parts of those sentences in the separately run regional jail system.

West Virginia’s Division of Corrections is hoping to close the door to recidivism by helping inmates with drug problems break the grip of addiction. The state already opened two 28-bed units — one for men, the other for women — at Southwestern Regional Jail to accommodate inmates sentenced to DOC custody who are serving parts of those sentences in the separately run regional jail system.

In September, when Glen Dale’s Reynolds Memorial Hospital launched its BreakThru program, the staff figured they’d have between five and 10 patients a month coming in for help with getting on the road to a drug-free life.

In September, when Glen Dale’s Reynolds Memorial Hospital launched its BreakThru program, the staff figured they’d have between five and 10 patients a month coming in for help with getting on the road to a drug-free life.

Lena Lunsford was taken into custody by authorities in Pinellas County, Fla., where she is awaiting extradition on a charge of death of a child by a parent by child abuse, Lewis County, WV, Sheriff Adam Gissy told The Exponent Telegram.

Lena Lunsford was taken into custody by authorities in Pinellas County, Fla., where she is awaiting extradition on a charge of death of a child by a parent by child abuse, Lewis County, WV, Sheriff Adam Gissy told The Exponent Telegram.

If the flood of prescription painkillers in West Virginia fueled the state’s opioid crisis, new prescribing guidelines being taught to medical students, future pharmacists and nurses are seen as critical to stemming the tide. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines to ensure patients have access to safer, more effective pain treatments while reducing the risk of opioid abuse.

If the flood of prescription painkillers in West Virginia fueled the state’s opioid crisis, new prescribing guidelines being taught to medical students, future pharmacists and nurses are seen as critical to stemming the tide. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines to ensure patients have access to safer, more effective pain treatments while reducing the risk of opioid abuse.

Five years into her sobriety, Elly Donahue is more than willing to give credit where it’s due. “Drug court was my first step to recovery,” said Donahue, who graduated from drug court in 2013. “It’s what pushed me in that direction. I’d been in and out of rehab numerous times before, but drug court makes you accountable and responsible for your actions. It’s what I needed.”

Five years into her sobriety, Elly Donahue is more than willing to give credit where it’s due. “Drug court was my first step to recovery,” said Donahue, who graduated from drug court in 2013. “It’s what pushed me in that direction. I’d been in and out of rehab numerous times before, but drug court makes you accountable and responsible for your actions. It’s what I needed.”

Students participating in the West Virginia Innocence Project at West Virginia University’s College of Law led to the release of a man convicted of first-degree murder and sexual assault based on faulty forensic evidence.

Kenneth Manns spent 18 years behind bars for the Mercer County murder before WVIP students obtained a re-sentencing and lesser sentence for Manns, making him immediately eligible for parole. Manns was released in July, becoming the WVIP’s first client to be granted parole.

“With perseverance, our law students worked with our criminal justice system to get to the right result,” said Valena Beety, associate professor of law and director of the WVIP. “This man was serving life in prison, and now he is in the process of going home to be with his family and son, thanks to everyone’s hard work.”

WVU Law students and alumni Ashley Joseph, David Estep, Andrew Vodden and Kelli Ganz spent the last two years researching and investigating the case, and representing Manns in court. The group worked closely with WVIP Legal Fellow Kristen McKeon and was supervised by Beety and attorney Melissa Giggenbach. WVU rising senior and criminology major Quenton King assisted.

“It was incredible knowing that the work our team did led to an innocent man getting to go home,” Vodden said. “This is why we worked so hard all year long — to get this man out of prison and home with his family.

“He has already secured employment, knows where he is going to live, and has plans to attend classes to become a paralegal.”

Estep said he hopes this case will spread awareness about instances of injustice and that other individuals in similar situations will seek out the help to which they are entitled.

“(His) parole is only the beginning for the West Virginia Innocence Project,” he said. “Our criminal justice system is made up of humans, and sometimes humans make mistakes.

“Though they are only mistakes, these mistakes cost people their lives and their livelihoods, and to have an organization to act as a check on that system is both important and necessary.”

The WVIP is part of the Clinical Law Program at the WVU College of Law. It provides free legal representation to individuals who have meritorious claims of wrongful conviction.